“The expansion of the sites is only part of reaching more children,” said George Davis, director of Rockford’s Human Services Department. “We believe we’re going to have better utilization of the sites we have by making sure that families in the neighborhoods know that these are open sites. You don’t have to be signed up for a program to come down and get the meal. The meal is free. You can come from the surrounding area, from the neighborhood, and just get the meal. ... In general, kids who are there for the program participate in the meal. We’re missing the children who aren’t in those programs. We’re putting a strong push on that this year.”

About 21 million children nationwide get free or reduced-price lunches during the school year but only 3.5 million participate in the summer food program. The proportions are roughly the same in the Rockford area. The Rockford School District serves 21,526 free or reduced-prices lunches during the school year.

The Summer Food Service lunches are free to all children ages 2 to 18 in Winnebago and Boone counties. There is no need to provide proof of income or be enrolled in a summer program at the community center, park, church or library serving as a meal site. All sites are located near schools reporting large percentages of students on the free or reduced-price lunch program or operate in conjunction with programs that target the underserved.

The cost of the program in Winnebago and Boone counties is about $200,000. Nationwide, the cost is roughly $400 million.

The Boys & Girls Club of Rockford is one of the program’s biggest partners, with six locations in Winnebago County. The club served 200 lunches Monday. Leaders expect that number to go up as summer continues and word spreads.

“We feel very fortunate to have the meals because they’re something we could not afford to do on our own,” said Director of Operations Kim Kuester. “The kids like the meals, and it fits in with what we do here in terms of healthy eating, nutrition and playing at least 60 minutes a day.”

Page 2 of 2 - A typical lunch consists of a sandwich, a piece of fruit or vegetables, string cheese, milk and juice. Snacks, which are served at some locations in the afternoon, consist of pretzels or crackers and more milk or juice.

The lunches and snacks are designed to be healthy and help expose children to a variety of healthy foods.

“We had a child last summer that didn’t know what a pear was,” said Carol Green, director of Lifescape Community Services, which provides the summer meals for kids. “So, one of our hopes is to introduce kids to new things.”

Kids can be reluctant to try foods that are unfamiliar to them. Meyers has a solution for that.

“If they’re not wanting to try something, I try it first,” she said. “When they see me take a bite and say, ‘Yum. This is really good,’ then they want to try it, too. ... That’s what I usually do, and it works.”